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Rubicon Pledges Global Commitment to Eradicate Plastic Pollution

Today, Rubicon is proud to stand with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and be one of the first 250 companies, organizations, governments and universities worldwide to sign the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, a charter designed with the sole purpose of ending plastic pollution. The Foundation is calling this a #LineInTheSand.

Eliminating unnecessary and problematic plastics is absolutely essential, making it easier to keep remaining plastics in a circular economy and out of landfills and oceans.

This new commitment by the Foundation aims to (1) eliminate problematic, unnecessary, and single-use packaging models; (2) innovate to ensure that all plastic packaging can be safely reused, recycled, or composted; (3) circulate the plastics produced by increasing the amounts that are reused or recycled.

Some industry data to think about:

Americans used about 390 million plastic straws every day, with each use lasting an average of 20 minutes.

Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, only 1% of which are returned for recycling.

It is estimated that it can take plastic waste 500 years to decompose. The truth is that the plastic never completely decomposes. It just breaks down into really small bits of plastic. These tiny bits end up in animals – and in us.

From the very beginning, Rubicon’s fundamental mission has been to end waste in all its forms. Our mission led to the development of the RUBICONMethod, a six-step system for setting up and maintaining a successful business recycling and waste reduction programs and provide our cities and businesses with a practical guide to help them improve their waste programs and initiatives on waste reduction.

Here at Rubicon, we have a deep history with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, being chosen as an Emerging Innovator of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Economy 100 program. We are proud to fully support the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s belief that plastic should be designed, used, and disposed of in a manner where it never becomes waste, but rather serves as an input to the Circular Economy.

As a technology company in the waste and recycling industry, Rubicon is committed to using innovation and ingenuity to solve the global challenge of waste generation and bring about a new model that places emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.

Targeting this crisis and banding together with other like-minded companies, governments, and organizations is a key example of how we live our mission to end waste.

Editor’s Note: David Rachelson is the Vice President of Sustainability for Rubicon Global. Connect with him on Twitter @RubiconMethod to talk sustainability and the circular economy.

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